Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has compared the story arc of Timothee Chalamet’s character in Dune to that of Michael Corleone’s in The Godfather.

The much-anticipated film is an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 classic novel of the same name.

Set in the distant future, Dune follows Paul Atreides, whose family assumes control of the desert planet Arrakis, which is the only known location of the galaxy’s most vital and mind-altering mineral called “spice”.

After Paul and his family are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion, and man’s relationship to nature, as Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s reign.

Villeneuve shared few details about the film’s core story during a conversation with Empire magazine, while also sharing a new still of Chalamet.

“Paul has been raised in a very strict environment with a lot of training, because he’s the son of a Duke and one day… he’s training to be the Duke. But as much as he’s been prepared and trained for that role, is it really what he dreams to be? That’s the contradiction of that character.

“It’s like Michael Corleone in The Godfather’ it’s someone that has a very tragic fate and he will become something that he was not wishing to become,” the director said.

Villeneuve has planned to tell the story of the book through two films that will see Chalamet’s Atreides transforming from a young boy to a man.

“His survival depends on being able to make the right decisions and adapt to different dangerous situations. It’s a very beautiful story about someone that becomes empowered,” the filmmaker said.